Follow UsMystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy wasn’t extremely pleased with himself despite being named Player of the Match in India's win in the first T20I of the three match series between India and England at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on January 22 (Wednesday).
He rated his performance just 7/10 after he returned with figures of 3/23 and decimated the England middle order, dismissing skipper Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone and Harry Brook.
This performance followed a stellar show in South Africa, where he picked up 12 wickets in the series—the most for an Indian man in a bilateral T20I series.
Speaking to Harsha Bhogle after the match, which India won by 7 wickets, Chakravarthy remarked that playing the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Eden Gardens for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), where the pacers had more help, gave him the experience to execute his skills against the English batters, who were flummoxed by his turn and bounce.
“I am used to see such pitches in the IPL. I know there are certain lengths which is helpful for me,” Chakravarthy said.
“I try to keep it away from their arc. Every over, bowling in Eden is challenging. The last over was very challenging, but by God's grace I was successful.”
Chakravarthy also explained how he’s using more overspin on his deliveries which helps him beat the batters with bounce and dip, something he wasn’t able to do earlier by just relying to side-spinning the ball.
“I can't beat batsmen with side spin. I can only beat them with bounce,” the KKR and Tamil Nadu spinner said.
The second T20I will be played on January 25 in Chennai.